Advanced

Social Media
JOU 4930 | Spring 2017 | Section 08E5 | 334 Weimer Hall
Thursdays 12:503:50 p.m. (periods 6, 7, 8)

Instructor: Mindy McAdams, Professor, Department of Journalism
Email:
mmcadams@jou.ufl.edu
Office:
3049 Weimer Hall
Office hours: Wednesdays 13 p.m. | And by appointment
Office phone: (352) 392-8456 (NOTE: Email is better. Much better.)
WEBSITE:
https://socmeduf.wordpress.com/

Course Description
Students in this course analyze social media platforms and social media accounts used by news
organizations and individuals in professional contexts; write individual posts for various purposes and
goals; produce photos, videos and graphics for social sharing.

Course Objectives
In this course, students learn how to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Study and analyze social media use by news organizations and journalists
Create and critique social media posts
Create photos, videos and graphics for use in social media posts
Edit and improve their profiles on social media accounts
Learn about voice and branding in social media
Learn about analytics, community, demographics

Prerequisites
Students who enroll in this course must have completed JOU 3101 Reporting with a C or better.
Consideration will be given to students who have completed RTV 2100, JOU 3109C or MMC 2100.
Students who have not completed any of those courses should not enroll in this course.

Attendance and Attitude

Students are expected to show respect for one another and for the instructor. Attendance and arriving
on time for class are necessary. Lateness and unexcused absences will result in a lower final grade (see
details below for point breakdown). If you have been absent, you are responsible for finding out about
any missed material by consulting another student and/or going to the instructors office hours. These
matters will not be handled via email.

Advanced Social Media syllabus / McAdams

Mobile devices must be turned OFF and placed out of sight during class. Do not check text messages,
social media, email, etc., during class, as your instructor considers this quite rude and therefore grounds
for disciplinary action. Give your full and undivided attention to anyone who is speaking in class,
including your fellow students.
Students are expected to use their own laptop computer during class. However, if you are seen checking
social media or any other sites unrelated to the immediate topics being discussed in class, penalties will
be imposed. Penalties range from a warning (first offense) to grade point deductions, starting at 50
percent of one assignment for the second offense and up to half a letter grade for the course for chronic
issues. Please give your full attention to the class while you are in the classroom.
See Attendance and participation under Course Requirements below for grading specifics.

UF Attendance Policies
> https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/attendance.aspx

Course Deadlines and Makeup Work

Late assignments are not accepted unless an emergency can be documented. This means that an
assignment submitted late is graded as a zero. Assignments are not accepted via email unless requested
by the instructor. If an illness or a personal emergency prevents you from completing an assignment on
time, advance notice and written documentation are required. If advance notice is not possible because
of a genuine emergency, written documentation will be required. No work for extra credit is accepted.
NOTE: Assignment deadlines in Canvas are usually set for 11:59 p.m. If you submit after the deadline,
your assignment is late.

Academic Dishonesty
Academic dishonesty of any kind is not tolerated in this course. It will be reported to the students
department chair AND to the universitys Dean of Students. It will result in a failing grade for this course
(for details, see http://regulations.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/4042.pdf ). A formal report of
the offense will be filed with the universitys Dean of Students.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to:

Using any work done by another person and submitting it for a class assignment.
Submitting work you did for another class.
Copying and pasting text written by another person without quotation marks and/or without
complete attribution, which usually includes a link to the original work.
Use of images produced by others without explicit permission of the creator of the image.
Attribution is not the same as permission. Most images found online are not free to use.

Advanced Social Media syllabus / McAdams

UF Student Honor Code

> https://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/process/student-conduct-honor-code/

Required Books and More

There is one required book for this course. Additional weekly reading assignments will be posted on the
course website. All assigned readings will be covered in the weekly quizzes.
Required text: Likeable Social Media, 2nd edition, by Dave Kerpen (McGraw-Hill, 2015).

Social media accounts

During this course, students are required to use various social media platforms. Several graded
assignments will require the use of accounts using your real name and publicly viewable posts. It is
acceptable to have more than one account on one platform (such as Twitter) if the student prefers it.
However, it is not acceptable to make accounts private or hidden if they are being used for a course
assignment. The students real name must be on the account.

Students with Disabilities

Students requesting accommodations must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of
Students Office will provide documentation to the student, who must then provide this documentation
to the instructor when requesting accommodations.

UF Disability Resource Center

> https://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/

Course Requirements
Read this entire document in the first week of classes. If anything is not clear to you, ask me for
clarification on or before Jan. 10, 2017. This syllabus is a contract between you and me.
Please make sure to check the course website at least once a week. If you rely only on a printed or
downloaded copy, you may miss a change in the schedule.
> WEBSITE: https://socmeduf.wordpress.com/

Quizzes
There will be quizzes on the assigned reading. Quizzes are in Canvas and are open-book. On the Course
Schedule page on the course website (see above), the readings covered on that weeks quiz are listed
under the same week as the quiz. Deadlines: In Canvas.

Assignments
Assignments are listed and LINKED on the Course Schedule page on the course website (see above).
Exact deadlines: In Canvas.

Advanced Social Media syllabus / McAdams

Presentations
Presentations will involve a 10-minute demonstration in class, showing how news organizations are
using a particular app/social media platform from a list to be provided by the instructor.

Social media journal

So that you will have something to show from the class, you will make at least one post per week in a
public, online, individual journal at Tumblr. Tumblr will be used because you can add Google Analytics
without an extra charge. Each weeks journal work will be marked pass/fail. If you have 10 or more failed
weeks, the grade for your journal will be 0. For details, see the Required Work page on the course
website (see link above).

Attendance and participation

Points will be subtracted if you miss more than one (1) class meeting, are chronically late, or repeatedly
show inattention. Participation in discussions is expected. At times, you will be working on assigned
projects during class. Absences due to illness, serious family emergencies, special curricular
requirements, etc., will be handled in accordance with UF policies, to which you will find a link on page 2
of this syllabus.

Grades and Grading Policies

Quizzes
Assignments and presentations
Social media journal
Attendance and participation
TOTAL

30 percent
50 percent
10 percent
10 percent
100 percent

92100 points
9091 points
8889 points
8287 points
8081 points
7879 points

A
A
B+
B
B
C+

7277 points
7071 points
6869 points
6267 points
6061 points
59 points or fewer

C
C
D+
D
D
E

UF Policies about Student Grades

> https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/grades.aspx

UF Dates (Spring 2017)

Classes begin
Drop/Add
Classes end
Final Exams

Jan. 4
Jan. 410
April 19
April 2228

Advanced Social Media syllabus / McAdams

MLK Jr. Day

Spring Break

Jan. 16
March 511

Course Evaluations
Students are expected to provide feedback on the quality of instruction in this course based on 10
criteria. These evaluations are conducted online: https://evaluations.ufl.edu
Evaluations are typically open during the final weeks of the semester. Students will be given specific
dates when they are open. Summary results of these assessments are available to students:
https://evaluations.ufl.edu/results/

Course Schedule and Topics

Please note that many important details are on the website (https://socmeduf.wordpress.com/ ) and do
not appear herein. Assigned readings, links to videos, resources, etc., are on the Course Schedule page
of the website. Quizzes are based on the assigned readings in that same week.

Week 1 | Jan. 5
Introduction to the course; expectations

Week 2 | Jan. 12
Listening to the audience; social media and the evolving news ecosystem
Your social media profile: Inventory assignment (in class)
Your social media journal (starts now)

Week 3 | Jan. 19
Using social platforms to reach targeted audiences and to find sources
Professional use of Twitter; how journalists use Twitter; Twitter lists; whom to follow

Week 4 | Jan. 26
What consumers like; consequences of the Facebook algorithm
Facebook and news; Instant Articles; Pages; Groups

Week 5 | Feb. 2
Spreading your message by acquiring fans and followers
Instagram and Snapchat
Scheduling postswhy and how (Buffer, Hootsuite, SocialFlow)

Week 6 | Feb. 9
Engagement: What does it mean for news?
Building communities; responding to people; comment sections
Audience metrics and analysis

Week 7 | Feb. 16
Using the right tone and language in responses
Viral media and sharing behaviors
Advanced Social Media syllabus / McAdams

Week 8 | Feb. 23
Being authentic; transparency
Short social videos; live streaming videos; Facebook Live and news events

Week 9 | March 2
Class does not meet; your instructor will be at a conference. However, there is a quiz and an assignment.
Social media guidelines from professional news organizations
Social media is everyones job

Week 10 | March 9
Spring Breakno class

Week 11 | March 16
Asking questions (relates to engagement and community)
Crowdsourcing and UGC
Live coverage of events, breaking news

Week 12 | March 23
Providing value; free vs. paid
Curation and aggregation: Best practices

Week 13 | March 30
Using social network ads
Images, cards and animated GIFs: Creating attention with visuals

Week 14 | April 6
Preparing for mistakes; appropriate ways to react; handling corrections
Verification and fact checking with social media; fake news

Week 15 | April 13
Exceeding the audiences expectations
Data protection, security and privacy for journalists
Classes end: April 19 (Wednesday)
Finals: Monday, April 24Friday, April 28
Weekly topics are subject to change. Please check the Course Schedule page on the course website for
the latest updates.

Advanced Social Media syllabus / McAdams